Comparative Literature (CMLT)

Abstract

A small, elite PhD degree program housed in the Department of English, the Comparative Literature Program is committed to the comparative and transnational study of literature and other media. Combining its own dynamic resources with those of the English Department and other units in the College of Arts and Humanities, the Program supports a wide range of interests, including Western Hemispheric and Transatlantic Studies, Film, Early Modern Studies, Classical Reception, and Diasporic and Postcolonial Studies. Students in the Program work in at least two languages and national literatures, one of them Anglophone. The Comparative Literature PhD Program complements the current PhD Program in English, giving students a place to pursue true comparative studies. Students seeking admission to the PhD Program in Comparative Literature must demonstrate advanced language proficiency before entry into the Program, and commit themselves to achieving a high degree of intellectual expertise in two or more languages and national literatures. Graduates are as likely to find academic positions in departments of foreign languages as they are to find them in English. A doctoral degree in Comparative Literature can uniquely prepare them for a profession that more and more studies literatures and cultures within a globalized, transnational context. Students are admitted to CMLT with a Masters degree in a language or literature in hand. Exceptional candidates without the MA may be admitted to the program with the understanding that once they complete an MA degree at UMD (in the English Department or in another relevant language department) they will be directly admitted to the program in CMLT.

Financial Assistance

Comparative Literature students are eligible for graduate assistantships and university fellowships. Depending on available resources and the student’s own expertise, teaching and research assistantships may be available either in Comparative Literature or in an affiliated department.

General Requirements

Program-Specific Requirements

Letters of Recommendation (3)

Graduate Record Examination (GRE)

Academic CV

Writing Sample: A single sample of critical writing of approximately 12-20 pages. While we encourage you to submit your best writing sample, we prefer a writing sample in your declared field of interest. The writing sample should include an updated works cited page to help us evaluate your critical and theoretical familiarity with a field, a period or a genre. (uploaded to the Uploads Requirements section of the application)

Applicants should have a strong background in arts and humanities. Students will not be admitted to the program without demonstrated proficiency in English and at least one other language. Each student must submit a critical writing sample (in English), three letters of recommendation, evidence of language proficiency, and GRE scores. International applicants must also submit TOEFL scores. Students are admitted to CMLT with a Masters degree in a language or literature in hand. Exceptional candidates without the MA may be admitted to the program with the understanding that once they complete an MA degree at UMD (in the English Department or in another relevant language department) they will be directly admitted to the program in CMLT.

The Comparative Literature Program combines the benefits of a small department with the opportunities available at a large research university located in suburban Washington, D.C. Students have access to such University resources as the rare books and special collections of McKeldin Library, the Program for Africa and Africa in the Americas, the Women’s Studies Graduate Certificate program, and the Meyerhoff Center for Jewish Studies. Area resources include the extensive archival collections of the Library of Congress, the U.S. Archives, and the Folger Institute, as well as museums, galleries, embassies and cultural institutions in the Washington area and in the Baltimore-Philadelphia-New York corridor.

Last Name

First/Middle Name

Graduate Faculty Status

Academic Credentials

Positions

Anischenkova

Valerie

Full Member

B.A./M.A. St. Petersburg State University, 1997; M.A. University of Michigan, 2001; Ph.D. University of Michigan, 2007